A CAT'S EYE VIEW

In the interest of equal representation, a spokescat presents her point of mew about the upcoming Animal Haven event, BETWEEN MAN & BEAST.



Playwrights for Pets presents BETWEEN MAN & BEAST, Tuesday evening, May 19th at 7:30 pm at Animal Haven, 251 Centre Street (between Grand and Broome Streets). Suggested donation is $10, and all proceeds go to Animal Haven, the animal shelter/adoption center that cares for dogs and cats. Reservations for the evening can be made by calling 718-768-4213 or emailing sue@playwrightsforpets.com. Running time for the evening will be approximately one hour. Hope you can join us for what will be a fun evening--and it's all for an excellent cause!

QUESTIONING THE QUESTIONERS

Slow as I am, I finally just got to Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, SICKO, on disc. It was what I expected--intelligent if somewhat biased, entertaining if somewhat manipulative, and ABOVE ALL, thought-provoking. Moore's critics will seem to find his gift for "thought-provoking" to be his greatest sin.

What we should ask these critics is: What is the harm in provoking thoughts? In starting discussions? In looking at things that need improvement in our IMPERFECT system--yes, sorry, folks but there are indeed flies in the ointment! What is the harm in looking at where we need to improve? Isn't freedom of speech, freedom of opinion what we've been fighting for all these years?

Michael Moore is larger than life. He is a gifted film maker and an essayist--but not necessarily a journalist. He is not reporting, he is rabble-rousing, getting people hot and bothered and making them THINK. (I guess one can say the same thing about Rush Limbaugh--two bears on opposite sides of the ring!) If you are a liberal, then no doubt you will nod in agreement with many of Michael Moore's points, and if you are a conservative, you may well accuse him of being one-sided. But are we so insecure as a people that we can't take a hard look at ourselves and find ourselves wanting, in need of change? We champion our capitalist way of life but seem terrified to look beneath the shrink-wrapping to see what's really inside the package.

While SICKO may play fast and loose by presenting only selected facts, one cannot deny that the American health system is broken. Anyone who has been through the mill with a serious illness--or even just attempted to prevent a devastating problem through testing, check-ups and doctor visits--will tell you that the health system itself is more terrifying than the illness. Can anyone (other than bonus-grabbing pharmaceutical and HMO executives) honestly say they feel safer for their coverage? That their financial survival is not troubled by the health care coverage in this country? Unless you are independently wealthy, does ANYONE have smooth sailing when visiting doctors, hospitals, dentists, emergency rooms? And while certain politicians have defensively decried the ills of nationalized health care in other countries, virtually everyone I know from those other countries has backed up Moore's claims--that public health care systems work and make for a more secure way of life. Health care should be government subsidized from tax dollars, as are police, firemen, schools, etc., and should be one of the things government does to aid and protect its citizens. (Of course, it also works in other countries because the drug manufacturers have not been allowed to drive up costs to ridiculous heights, placing coverage exclusions on the most needed drugs, and HMO's have not been dictating who gets treated and what treatments work versus being merely experimental in the name of reducing their payouts.) The American people are not happy, the doctors are not happy, the pharmacists are not happy. So who IS happy with the status quo? The same people who contribute vast sums to election campaigns, perhaps?

But this is all, I suppose, up for debate. My REAL point here is: why can't we look at ourselves and try to improve on our shortcomings? Self-critique is a sign of strength. Just as there are those who opposed the stimulus package and yet offered only criticism but no alternative solutions, it seems that there are folks who just slam the door when health care reform is even mentioned. There are those presently in Washington who are saying Obama is foolish to deal with health care now in the middle of everything. But health care IS in the middle of everything--employment, finances, household incomes, economic problems and basic day-to-day survival of the average American. To say it is not is being worse than ignorant--it is deliberately turning a blind eye to something that should be the right of every citizen. Sometimes it feels as though those who insist on less government are in fact only looking for less oversight of their own activities. Those who squelch the health care discussion are those who have the most to lose by allowing reform to happen.

The very basis of our country's democracy is supposed to be the ability to talk, to argue and, through consensus, arrive at systemic improvements. (Interestingly, in many of the countries that have nationalized health care, they view it as a product of a democratic society, NOT a socialist regime.) If people can't get health care for their children, if people put off major therapies and procedures because they can't afford them or their insurance won't cover them, if people have to choose between medications that will help them and putting food on their table in this, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, SOMETHING IS WRONG.

I have no expertise and can not tell you one plan is better than another or one side is right and one is wrong. I do know enough, however, to be suspicious: if there is no discussion, if we remain in this quagmire, then SOMEONE is responsible for the shutdown. (And it needs to be looked at WHY they won't let the talks take place!)

A BENEFIT FOR OUR FURRY FRIENDS!




Playwrights for Pets, a terrific organization dedicated to “making theater to benefit animals in need,” will present an evening of five staged readings under the title, BETWEEN MAN & BEAST, on Tuesday evening, May 19th at 7:30 pm at Animal Haven, 251 Centre Street (between Grand and Broome Streets). The event, which will benefit Animal Haven, will feature staged readings of five new plays by playwrights Bill Dudley, Evan Guilford-Blake, V.E. Kimberlin, Ed Vela, and yours truly ( who is also director for the evening). The work will be read by an estimable ensemble of actors: James Arden, Kaseem Bristow, Erin Cronican, Eric Hunt, Jonna McElrath and Annie Pesch.

Suggested donation is $10, and all proceeds go to Animal Haven, the animal shelter/adoption center that cares for dogs and cats. Reservations for the evening can be made by calling 718-768-4213 or emailing sue@playwrightsforpets.com. Running time for the evening will be approximately one hour.

Hope you can join us for what will be a fun evening--and it's all for an excellent cause!

PEARLS BEFORE . . .
(Not to hog up too much airspace, but thought this would be fun--and maybe one day bring home the bacon!)

When we panic, we try to protect ourselves and may inadvertently harm others less fortunate. There always has and always will be flu--let's put it in perspective, shall we? Or as Piggy says, "People, people, people . . ."




"Hello. I'm here to address an overwhelming concern that is sweeping the world. It's proper name, of course is the H1N1 virus. But far too often, it is being represented as the so-called swine flu. As a member of the maligned swine community, I wish to inform you all that we as a species do not pose imminent danger.

But someone got the idea that swine are easy targets.

I ask you--we already have to deal with prejudice in the entertainment industry, where pearls are ALWAYS cast before we are. But now to be blamed for some pandemic. Pandemonium is more like it!

People, people, people! We don't blame everything on you!

When people belly futures crashed and the farmers' market tumbled and so many of us lost our life savings, we didn't say "damn those humans"! And as glaciers melt and rain forests disappear and many gifted creatures disappear, did you EVER see one of us point a finger?

We are peaceful, loving creatures. We mean you no harm. So calm down! Have a glass of juice. Drink chicken soup. Point your snout away from others if you think you are going to sneeze and put a sock in it if you're gonna cough on someone. If feverish, stay home and watch a video--an excellent flick, for example, would be BABE. Great film, always good for a laugh.

And masks, in my experience, are colorful and attractive and stare at you from the walls, but they will not help you avoid the illness.

And please, please, please. Remember that every time you call it the swine flu, you insult me and my fellows. Every time you call it the swine flu, you hurt a piggy.

Thank you."